Avid gamers know about N.O.V.A. – Near Orbit Vanguard Alliance, arguably the best iOS shooter that stuns with console-like visuals, huge environments and epic sci-fi storyline akin to Halo. The third installment of the series is being developed using Epic Games’s Unreal Engine 3, reports Pocket Gamer:

Word has it that shooter sequel N.O.V.A. 3 is among the four titles built around the engine and will be out later this year.

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It’s been known for some time that the Paris-based publisher licensed Unreal Engine for use in four upcoming iOS games due this year. Little do we know at this stage about N.O.V.A. 3, but we’re inclined to think the game will be optimized to take advantage of the A5 chip ticking inside iPad 2 (and soon in iPhone 5 and fifth-generation iPod touch). That a N.O.V.A. sequel is being built around Unreal Engine is great news for the fans of the series and those yearning for more killer titles to show off the power of the A4/A5 chip beyond id Software’s RAGE HD that runs a version of the id Tech 5 engine and Chair’s Infinity Blade which is driven by Unreal Engine.